Baked mascarpone cheesecake recipe

Baked mascarpone cheesecake is perfectly creamy and tender. Top it with your favorite jam and you’ll get a sophisticated Italian delight

This baked mascarpone cheesecake is so tender, creamy, delicious, and… different! That’s right, it’s not like a traditional cheesecake made with cream cheese. This cake is a cross between a cheesecake and a pudding, or a crème caramel dessert.

It’s one of the easiest and tastiest cheesecakes I’ve ever baked. Yes, baked… because this dessert is baked in the oven. And it’s much easier to prepare than you think.

Creamy Italian mascarpone cheese, heavy whipping cream, aromatic lemon zest, and vanilla pudding are a winning combination because the result is simply amazing! If you love unusual cheesecake recipes, give this a try.

Useful tips

This crustless mascarpone cheesecake with jam is super easy to make. Follow just a few simple tips for the best result:

• Mascarpone cheese should be at room temperature. It has to be completely softened.
• Do not replace mascarpone with cream cheese. Cream cheese won’t give you the same texture and you will get a completely different cake. So leave the cream cheese for other recipes.
• Lemon zest and vanilla are essential ingredients. They will not only make the cake extremely fragrant but also cover a possible perceptible egg taste. I also add a pinch of cinnamon (add it to give the dessert extra flavor). If you don’t like lemon zest, you can replace it with orange zest. Or add your favorite extract – almond, rum, orange…
• Don’t open the oven door while the dessert is baking. Cracks may form on the cake due to the temperature difference. We will top the cheesecake with jam, so cracks on the top are not a problem, but still, for the best result, I advise you to refrain from opening the oven, it is better to “spy on” the baking process through the oven door glass.
• If the cake rises during baking and falls a little after cooling, don’t worry. This is exactly how it should be.
• When the mascarpone cheesecake is ready, turn off the oven and let it cool completely in the oven with the door ajar. Then put it in the refrigerator overnight. No matter how much you want to eat a piece of cake right away, I highly recommend enjoying it the next day. Freshly baked cheesecake can have an eggy taste. But after the cake cools in the refrigerator overnight (or even better, 24 hours), the taste and texture will completely change – the eggy aftertaste will disappear, the lemon flavor will fully reveal itself, and the texture of the dessert will be perfect.
• As soon as the dessert cools in the oven, top it with your favorite jam. This ingredient is also essential.  It adds expressiveness to the taste. You can use any jam you like: strawberry, peach, raspberry, plum, cherry… If you don’t like jam, you can replace it with Nutella, caramel sauce, or lemon curd.

What kind of pan should I use for mascarpone cheesecake?

I usually bake mascarpone cheesecake in a springform pan or a regular aluminum cake pan (29cm/11” in diameter).

During baking, the cheesecake rises, so choose a cake pan with high sides (at least 5 cm/2 inches high).

Don’t forget to oil the bottom and sides of the pan.

Ingredients

Measure the ingredients correctly. If you are a happy digital kitchen scale owner, I highly recommend using it instead of cups and spoons. Especially when it comes to baking recipes. A scale gives you far more accurate results than volume measurements (everyone scoops ingredients differently). Trust me, using a kitchen scale to measure ingredients will take this baked mascarpone cheesecake to a new level.

(The proportions are calculated for a baking pan 29 cm/11” in diameter)

• 500g (17oz) mascarpone cheese
• 250g (1cup) heavy whipping cream
• 250g (1cup+3Tbsp) sugar
• 4 eggs
• vanilla (required – it covers the taste of eggs)
• a pinch of cinnamon
• grated zest of 2 lemons
• 3Tbsp chocolate chip morsels
• 150g (1/2 cup) milk
• 150g (5oz) vanilla instant pudding powder mix (already sweetened)
• jam of your choice (I use thick strawberry jam)

How to make crustless mascarpone cheesecake

Beat eggs with sugar. Add heavy cream, milk, and vanilla. Then beat everything again.

Add mascarpone cheese, instant pudding powder mix, cinnamon, and grated lemon zest. Once again beat until smooth without lumps

Pour the mixture into the baking pan (grease it with oil or butter). Sprinkle the cake with chocolate chip morsels.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and bake the mascarpone cheesecake for 45-50 minutes (until it’s lightly browned). Then cool it in the oven with the door ajar. When the cake is cool, remove it from the oven and top it generously with your favorite jam.

Be sure to leave the mascarpone cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight (no matter how much you want to try it right away… I understand you… LOL). It will harden and enhance its flavor.

More unusual cheesecake recipes? Try my chocolate ricotta cheesecake. You are going to love it.

FAQ

Prepare a baked mascarpone cheesecake for a festive table or just for a cup of tea or coffee. Be sure to chill it overnight in the fridge and enjoy!

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